come up roses —(also: come up daisies) turn out extremely well, especially when things seemed to be going badly at first:
- Everything has come up roses with the film and all the naysayers have been pretty much silenced.
come up smelling of roses—(UK, also: come out smelling of roses) emerge from an unfavorable situation with one’s reputation undamaged:
- She gets into trouble all the time, but generally seems to come up smelling of roses.
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase take time to smell the roses—(also: stop and smell the roses) slow down and relax; take time out and enjoy life:
- While he described Williams as a “phenomenal woman,” he also calls her a “workaholic.” “She just doesn’t take time to smell the roses,” he said.
See also: roses, roses all the way / roses round the door.